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Nobody should mistake McCain for a leftist, but I wonder if Obama would stand up to an angry crowd and defend basic decency (albeit with implicit caveats) as McCain does here, in a rally in Michigan, during his presidential bid:

But I will tell you this, ma’am. I am not going to call up a soldier that’s fighting in Iraq today and tell him that I am going to deport his mother. I am not going to do that. YOU can do it. Okay?

Two things struck me about this (apart from the pandering about ‘securing the border’ etc): his direct and clear rejection of the mob, and the positive reaction that the rejection drew from the crowd. Obama fans speak of his inspirational or transformative capacity, but I doubt I have seen him take a clear and unpopular stand such as this and use that clarity and integrity to turn the crowd around.